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What whales may share with Mongolian singers

Published 30 May 2018

From
John Velonis, Dobbs Ferry, New York, US

Kate Stafford says that bowhead whales can produce two different sounds at once, and “we don't know how they do that” (14 April, p 20). I wonder whether the whales may be using techniques similar to those used by human throat-singers from Mongolia, Tibet and elsewhere.

These singers amplify selected overtones – harmonics of the note produced by their vocal chords – by changing the shape of their oral cavities. Demonstrations by traditional singers and others such as Anna-Maria Hefele can readily be found online.